Dickson land swap action delayed until 2019

The Dickson land swap: the blocks of land involved in the deal. Credit:Fairfax

The ACT government will not reveal plans on how to address problems raised by an audit into the controversial Dickson land swap until sometime next year.

It was revealed in this year's audit findings that the Canberra Tradesmen's Union Club got up to $2.6 million under a more favourable deal than was first envisioned in tender documents to sell a government-owned carpark outside the club.

Despite the audit recommending the planning directorate brief Planning Minister Mick Gentleman and advise him on how to fix problems with the tender process, a letter Mr Gentleman recently tabled in the Assembly indicated the government did not intend to release the implementation plan until 2019.

New ACT visa system doesn't do enough for international students

Chandan Paul is one of many who are still unsure if they will be able to become permanent residents in Canberra.Credit:Jamila Toderas

A Canberra migration lawyer has criticised changes to the ACT's visa system that will leave international students in limbo.

The ACT previously allowed international students who were studying in the capital to apply for permanent residency by claiming they had a connection to the city and reason to continue living here.

But due to the federal government reducing the skill migrant visa intake and other states changing their visa criteria, Canberra suddenly had more students than it could place as they chased permanent residency.

Now, changes to the visa criteria by the ACT government will leave some of these new students in limbo.